Man pleads guilty to four murders in Atlanta spa shootings
People view a makeshift memorial on Friday, March 19, 2021, in Atlanta. Robert Aaron Long, a white man, is accused of killing several people, most of whom were of Asian descent, at massage parlors in the Atlanta area. (AP Photo/Candice Choi)
Robert Aaron Long, the man charged with shooting eight people in Atlanta-area spas in March - six of them women of Asian decent - pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Jul 27) to murdering four of the victims.
Dressed in a white button-down shirt with an open collar and dress slacks and sporting a mohawk haircut, Long pleaded guilty in court to the murders of four people at the day spa in Cherokee County, about 64 km north of Atlanta.
READ: Man in police custody after US massage parlour shootings leave 8 dead
Long, holding his head up but looking somber, also affirmed agreement with the state's recommendation of four life sentences without possibility of parole, to be served consecutively, plus 35 years on other charges.
The victims in Cherokee County have been identified as: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44.
READ: Slain workers and customers in Atlanta spa shootings mourned by families
Long has also been indicted on murder charges in the Mar 16 killings of four women in Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta.
READ: Hundreds rally in Atlanta to support Asian American community after fatal shootings
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said Long targeted the women in Atlanta because of their race, national origin and gender and that she would seek the death penalty against him.
